REALISATION is growing in Pakistan that it needs to do more vis-à-vis banned organisations with an alleged presence on its soil. Prime Minister Imran Khan has chaired two high-level meetings of the civilian and military leaderships within a span of three days to address the shortcomings in the government’s counterterrorism and anti-extremism strategy. The state has of late demonstrated a renewed resolve to dismantle militant networks and put a stop to their activities. Earlier this month, it banned the JuD and FIF and launched a countrywide crackdown against their assets. Provincial administrations sealed or took administrative control of hundreds of madressahs, mosques, hospitals and ambulances run by JuD and FIF, as well as the already proscribed JeM. Now comes the truly challenging task — to identify the weaknesses in the state’s strategy that militant groups can still exploit in order to survive.

For one, the state could revisit some of its earlier anti-extremism measures and build upon them. More than four years have passed since NAP was announced in the immediate aftermath of the APS attack. However, what began as a 20-point flagship plan has since become a footnote in this battle. The action taken in the light of NAP has largely been piecemeal; a few preachers of hate arrested, some jihadi literature seized, and so on. Among the few points followed through on was the controversial step of establishing military courts. Nevertheless, NAP has the potential of forming the bedrock of a properly fleshed-out, integrated plan of action with timelines whereby progress can be realistically assessed. Other existing resources can be harnessed for the purpose, such as Nacta which is as moribund as ever after having fallen prey to politicking. In fact, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif did not call a single meeting of the premier counterterrorism body during his tenure. Instead of reinventing the wheel, such as setting up the National Internal Security Committee, why not strengthen Nacta and make it the robust entity it was meant to be? After all, both bodies have an identical raison d’être — specifically, inter-provincial and inter-agency coordination on security matters.

The state’s next steps are critical. It must ensure for the country’s sake that extremism cannot take succour anywhere. Banning organisations is one thing: their top leaders should be prosecuted for enabling and abetting violence that has claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives. Moreover, the state’s broad-based actions — legislation, regulations, data collection, etc — to tighten money-laundering procedures will not be sufficient unless complemented by activities at the ground level. The involvement of local administrations and law enforcement is important here, for the money trail that sustains extremist outfits can take many circuitous routes that sidestep the formal monetary system. There must be no doubt left that Pakistan is anything but fully committed to the global fight against terror financing.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2019